Will Ferrell Battles Chad Smith in ‘Tonight Show’ Drum-Off (Video)

Look-alikes Will Ferrell, left, and Chad Smith chat with Jimmy Fallon before the drum-off.

Getty Images

Of course it climaxed with a cowbell.

Celebrity doppelgängers Will Ferrell and Chad Smith, the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, hashed out a mock rivalry on “The Tonight Show” Thursday with a drum battle.

As people have pointed out for years, they look alike. And they enhanced the resemblance on Jimmy Fallon’s show by coming out in matching leather jackets, Kiss shirts and backwards baseball caps.

At first, Ferrell pretended to be Smith (while Smith did a solid job of keeping a straight face) as they plugged the charities they were supporting: Little Kids Rock for Smith and Cancer for College for Ferrell.

“You know the rules. This is a traditional drum-off,” Fallon said.

After Smith showed off his impressive chops, Ferrell put the competition to rest when he whipped out a cowbell. It was an homage to his classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch from 2000, enhanced by the surprise emergence of the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a rendition of “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”

Afterward, Ferrell ceded the stage to Smith and his band, who performed side by side with the Roots, wrapping the show with Funkadelic’s “Standing On the Verge of Getting It On” and their own “Give It Away.”